James Paxton ‘focused on winning’ with Red Sox amid trade speculation
Paxton had a strong bounce-back outing on Saturday, potentially helping his value if the Red Sox decide to trade him ahead of the Aug. 1 deadline.
James Paxton could end up being one of the top pitchers on the market if the Red Sox opt to be sellers ahead of the Aug. 1 trade deadline.
However, Paxton indicated following his latest outing that he’d like to remain in Boston for now, or at least that’s how handling things.
“I’m focused with what we’re doing here,” Paxton told reporters Saturday. “That [trade] stuff is totally out of my control. I’m not trying to think about that at all. Obviously, you see it, you hear it, but no control. For me, I’m focused on winning here with Boston.”
Paxton’s start on Saturday helped his case to either remain with the Red Sox or stabilize his trade value. Following his worst outing of the season against the Chicago Cubs, Paxton logged another quality start against the New York Mets. He gave up three runs (two earned) on three hits, one walk, and seven strikeouts in six innings pitched to earn the win. That’s obviously a lot better than the six runs he gave up over three innings against the Cubs.
The 34-year-old pitcher has looked sharp though for most of the season in his return from Tommy John Surgery and other ailments. He’s gone 6-2 with a 3.46 ERA over 12 starts.
Paxton’s also averaged more than 5 1/3 innings pitched per start. His 10.4 strikeouts per nine innings pitched would rank 11th in baseball and his 2.5 walks per nine innings pitched would rank tied for 22nd in baseball if he qualified. Most impressively, Paxton’s 6.5 hits allowed per nine innings would be the second-best in baseball if he had enough innings to qualify.
On top of that, Paxton is in the last year of his deal and is making relatively little money for a pitcher that’s had the kind of season he’s had at $4 million. That’s why MLB on Fox and The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal said that Paxton could have “tremendous trade value” if he continues to pitch well and remain healthy during an appearance on the “Fenway Rundown” podcast in June.
As of now, there haven’t been any teams strongly linked to Paxton in reports and it’s unclear what direction the Red Sox will take at the deadline. As Boston continues to win though, it’s gained ground in the race for the final playoff spot in the American League. With their 52-47 record, the Red Sox are two games back of the Blue Jays for the third wild-card spot entering Sunday.
But Paxton remains focused on pitching well in Boston, and he did that again Saturday.
“I felt good,” Paxton said. “I didn’t feel my sharpest out there but I thought [Jorge] Alfaro did a great job behind the plate. Kind of made some pitches and we stayed on the attack. It’s a great win for the team.”
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